The mayor of Benidorm, elected vice president of Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach (AMT)

The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, has been elected vice president of the Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach (AMT) during the meeting of this entity held yesterday in Madrid. An entity, formed in 2017 by the eight Spanish municipalities that exceed four million overnight stays per year. The Presidency of the AMT has fallen to the mayor of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Marco Aurelio Pérez; while the first mayor of Torremolinos, José Ortiz, will occupy the Secretariat. The election of positions has been done according to the tourist overnight stays of each member municipality of the Alliance and will be valid until 2019, at which time Benidorm will accede to the presidency according to the adopted agreements.

Perez has indicated that "from the minute one Benidorm has believed in this Alliance and in the convenience of the eight most important municipalities in the segment of sun and beach go hand in hand and join the voice in our claims that, in a very high, they are the same. " "The eight -have deepened- share concerns, problems and opportunities, and the sharing and joint analysis of them provides a more accurate diagnosis of the situation and more accurate and effective solutions."

Among the multitude of topics addressed during the meeting, the exchanges of opinion on the treatment that should be given to the emergence of the large number of tourist homes and the scope of municipal and local competencies stand out. There is great discontent over the lack of compliance of the legislation by platforms and the limited control, which must be increased urgently, in order to continue maintaining the leadership of these destinations in the domestic market, hence the commitment to transmit to the Government of Spain and its respective Autonomous Communities, the urgency and need to take effective measures to avoid the degradation that may occur due to the increase of the underground economy, labor fraud and the impact on consumer guarantees.

Likewise, they were analyzing the presentation of common projects related to digitalization and the presentation of projects for the Integral Recualification Plan for Tourist Destinations, and the participation in the Smart Tourist Destinations Network, recently announced by Minister Reyes Maroto, as well as upcoming performances for the 19th International Tourism Forum of Benidorm on October 18, and Fitur and FiturtechY 2019.

Those present analyzed the tourist perspectives of destinations for the summer. Juan Molas, President of CEHAT and ITH, stressed that "67% of Spaniards will stay on their holidays in Spain, so there will be alternation between national and international tourists, and also the forecast for the month of September is stable . "

It should be noted that as a result of the exchange of information on the actions of the Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach, they have been claiming for a long time the recognition of a special status, since they produce more than 20% of the total number of overnight stays in our country.

In future meetings with high officials of the Ministry, will be exposed the special needs of these municipalities generating employment and struggling to end seasonality and to achieve high rates of progress for the benefit of residents and the millions of people who visit each year.

About the Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sol y AMT

The Alliance of Tourist Municipalities of Sun and Beach (AMT) was born in 2017 with the initiative of 8 pioneer tourist destinations in Spain, such as Adeje, Arona, Benidorm, Calvià, Lloret de Mar, Salou, San Bartolomé de Tirajana and Torremolinos. The key objectives are the treatment of the problems that affect the commitment to the digitization of the sector, sustainability, accessibility, and cooperation between destinations. The Technical Secretariat of the Alliance is managed by the Hotel Technological Institute (ITH).